I just woke my iPod 3rd generation 30GB (10 years old ) , I dont think it has been "alive" for at least 5 years hehe.. gave it a full charge & synced some music...
this thing is as new.. unbelievable
my main profession is I´m a commercial-offshore/hazmat diver and sometimes we decompress for 24 hours...
my "old" iPod-touch gen 2 broke down and I didnt feel like driving to buy a new iPod I thought maybe my 10 year old would do.. and so it does

My iPod Color (4th gen?) is still holding a decent charge. Of course I've been careful to make sure the battery never drains by recharging it once a month.

And I wind up using it a couple of times a year.

That is what I'm doing with my iPod Nano. My iPod 3rd generation actually started to suffer from battery and hard drive issues in late 2006/early 2007 though. It still acts as wonky as it was then, and I'm surprised it even still half-works. I replaced it with the iPod Video the week the issues starting happening.

I recently did the same thing and pulled out my 3rd generation iPod. Mine doesn't hold any charge but when it's plugged in it works wonders! I really love the 3rd generation iPod, the three buttons are so neat!